


Tentative Gifts

by sophisticus



Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 11:34:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14448423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophisticus/pseuds/sophisticus
Summary: Robin gives Kitty Mamakoto some dubious romantic advice, but it seems to work out alright in the end.





	Tentative Gifts

“Hey Robin, have you got a minute?”

Robin looked up from her book and smiled as Kitty approached. “Of course, what’s on your mind?” she asked, setting her book aside.

Kitty sat on the bench next to her, fiddling with the cuff of her sleeve anxiously. Above them, the open sail cast nice shade over the two women and the small flower garden that surrounded them, which Robin had been carefully cultivating for ages now. “I need some advice,” she said. Most of the rest of the crew was busy with various activities on the deck far below, or in Sanji’s case, cooking up everyone’s lunch, and she was grateful they wouldn’t overhear this conversation. Robin was only six years older than her, but she looked up to her as if she were her older sister. She could be a little morbid sometimes, true, but for the most part she had a way of clearing the muddy waters of nearly any issue.

“I hardly pretend to know everything, but I’ll do my best,” Robin said.

“Well…when you and Franky first…became a thing…how did that go?” Kitty asked awkwardly. Robin and Franky were hardly an obvious couple, but it had still shocked the crew the first time she’d given the cyborg a quick peck on the lips before she left the room one day.

Robin blinked in surprise, but her expression turned thoughtful. “Well…when it became clear to both of us that the other felt the same, we talked about it one day and that was it,” she said, tapping her chin. “Nothing crazy.”

“Oh.” Kitty tried to keep the disappointment from her voice, but it must’ve shown on her face because Robin chuckled.

“I’m sorry if that’s not the answer you were looking for,” she said. “If you have a more specific question, I might be able to help more efficiently.”

“There’s…someone I’m kind of interested in, and I was hoping for advice of how to look into it,” Kitty said evasively.

“Oh, you mean the swordsman?”

Kitty sputtered. “What?” she choked. “No, of course not! What- why would you, I mean-”

Robin laughed aloud, making Kitty’s face turn even redder.

“LOOK, I just…I don’t know, okay? I’m just trying to figure it out,” Kitty huffed.

“I see.” Robin leaned forward, still smiling. “Well, if you’re interested in someone, but are unsure if they return the feelings, you could always just ask. If that’s a bit too direct, you could always try and make some gesture that you feel they would appreciate. Easy examples would be a plate of meat for Luffy, or jewelry for Nami. If you don’t feel a gift is the way to go, you could try asking to join them in their interests – like having Brook teach you to play the violin.”

“Hmmm. That makes sense. Any other…examples?” Kitty said casually. The sparkle in Robin’s eyes said that she wasn’t fooled, but she smiled and nodded anyway.

“If the person you were interested in were Zoro, which you’re definitely not, I would consider how deeply he cares for his crew despite his mask of detachment. It might hint at an underlying passionate heart that might appreciate some more traditional romantic approaches.” Robin gestured at the flower beds surrounding them. “For example, maybe a gift of flowers.”

“Flowers? For Zoro?” Kitty said, disbelief making her drop her pretense.

Robin winked. “As an example.” She then made a show of picking up her book, opening it, and holding it in a way where she couldn’t see anything else but the pages. Kitty stared at her for a moment before it clicked, and she took the hint and plucked a single violet flower from the garden.

\----

It took her less than a minute to climb up to the crow’s nest, where Zoro frequently retreated to so he could exercise in peace. Sure enough, even as she reached the ladder leading inside, she could hear and feel the heavy thumps as he did whatever it was he did with those obnoxious weights. Kitty rapped her knuckles on the hatch before opening it.

Zoro looked up as she entered. “Oh, hey Kitty,” he said.

“Hey,” she replied. “Am I interrupting?”

“Yes, but it’s fine. I’m almost done anyway.” Kitty made herself comfortable on a bench while he finished his repetitions. Once he’d finished and set them back in their usual place, he came and sat next to her. “What’s up?”

Kitty flushed a delicate pink, but pushed past it anyway. “I got you a present,” she said in a rush. Before Zoro could do anything more than open his mouth, she shoved the flower at him, dropping her gaze away.

He was silent for a long moment, and the dreadful thought bubbled up that he was going to reject her – or worse, laugh in her face. Instead of either, his warm fingers brushed hers as he took the flower and examined it thoughtfully. “This is from Robin’s garden, isn’t it?” Kitty nodded. Her heart hammered in her chest as he sniffed the flower. “It smells nice.”

“Thank you.” _Thank you?_ Stupid, that was so stupid. Say something else. “Do you like it?”

Zoro’s face was inscrutable as he seemed to consider her words. Then, to her surprise and fascination, his face slowly turned pink with a blush. _Adorable._ “Yeah,” he said. “I’ll put it in some water later. Thank you.” Kitty froze as he leaned in and brushed the barest kiss against her cheek, then stood and headed towards the ladder out. She couldn’t see his face, but she could tell from his easy stride and the set of his shoulders that he was in high spirits. How long she waited after he left, she wasn’t sure, but she wanted to make sure her face was no longer red before she descended back to the deck.


End file.
